JOURNAL OFWADOLESCENT
10.1177/0743558405274871
Rivadeneyra,
ard / TELEVISION
RESEARCH
AND GENDER
/ July 2005
ROLE
From Ally McBeal to Sábado Gigante:
Contributions of Television Viewing to the Gender Role
Attitudes of Latino Adolescents
Rocío Rivadeneyra
Illinois State University
L. Monique Ward
University of Michigan
Although previous findings indicate that frequent television viewing is associated with
holding more stereotypical attitudes about gender, no studies have examined this connection among Latino youth, who are frequent viewers of both English- and Spanishlanguage programming. The present study attempted to rectify this situation by examining connections between exposure to this content, viewer involvement, and the gender
role beliefs of Latino adolescents. Surveying 186 Latino high school students, we found
that girls who watched more television and who perceived it to be realistic exhibited more
traditional gender role attitudes. Similar contributions were seen from the viewing of
specific genres of English- and Spanish-language programming, underscoring the
importance of investigating associations by language, sex, and genre.
Keywords: Latinos; gender roles; television; Spanish-language television; adolescents
Television has become a central feature in the daily lives of many American adolescents. From sitcoms to soap operas, teens are estimated to spend
approximately 3 hours each day watching TV (Roberts, Foehr, Rideout, &
Brodie, 1999), which, during the course of a year, is more time than they
spend in school. Although many adults may view this as wasted time, media
serve many functions for adolescents, including providing outlets for mood
control, models for emulation, and scripts for exploring possible selves
(Arnett, 1995; Dorr, 1986). At the same time, TV portrayals contribute
directly and indirectly to shaping adolescents’ notions of social reality. In
every image, line of dialogue, and behavior enacted, television conveys
important messages about cultural norms and belief systems, providing
information about what is valued, expected, and possible.
Journal of Adolescent Research, Vol. 20 No. 4, July 2005 453-475
DOI: 10.1177/0743558405274871
© 2005 Sage Publications
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JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT RESEARCH / July 2005
However, the portrayals that dominate television programming do not
always present accurate characterizations of adult behavior. Analyses of TV
programs broadcast from the 1970s through the 1990s document that portrayals of women and men are commonly limited and stereotypical (Bretl &
Cantor, 1988; Browne, 1998), presenting often one-dimensional representations of male and female behavior. Male characters are featured in a greater
variety of roles and occupations than are female characters and are seen as
powerful, assertive, problem-solving agents whose needs and opinions are
taken seriously. Women, on the other hand, are typically featured less frequently and often serve as subordinates to the male lead. Female characters
are more often passive, dependent, emotional, and youthful, with a greater
focus on their physical attractiveness. Few married female characters (37%)
are employed outside the home and shown meeting the demands of both family and career, in contrast to 67% in the real world (“TV vs. Reality,” 1998).
Although there have been some improvements in these trends during the past
decade, with increasing portrayals of professional women and of nurturing
men (Signorielli & Bacue, 1999), evidence indicates that the general patterns
persist.
Associations Between TV Viewing and Gender Belief Systems:
Existing Correlational Research
Because of television’s prominence in young people’s lives, concern has
been expressed that repeated exposure to its limited perspectives might lead
youth to adopt equally limited views of masculinity and femininity. Indeed, if
women are seldom portrayed as problem solvers, heroines, and working
mothers, and if men are rarely depicted as nurturant and sensitive, viewers’
own self-conceptions, aspirations, and gender ideologies may become
equally constrained. Data linking the acceptance of stereotypical gender
roles with negative mental health outcomes, such as poor body image, alcohol abuse, and sexual risk taking (Monk & Ricciardelli, 2003; Pleck,
Sonenstein, & Ku, 1993; Tolman, 1999) reveal the gravity of adopting such
constrained belief systems.
Is there any indication, then, of television’s possible influence here?
Although not conclusive, empirical evidence suggests that regular exposure
to TV’s stereotypical gender roles is associated with young viewers’ ideas
about gender (for review, see Signorielli, 2001). We divide this work into two
domains and summarize existing studies testing children, adolescents, or college students in Table 1. One set of studies (Outcome 1) examines whether
regular media use is associated with people’s beliefs about the occupations,
activities, and attributes associated with each sex. Findings indicate several
Rivadeneyra, Ward / TELEVISION AND GENDER ROLE
455
significant connections in this area. First, frequent television viewing is associated with holding more stereotypical associations about masculine and
feminine traits, activities, chores, and occupations (Morgan, 1987;
Signorielli & Lears, 1992). Second, greater exposure to specific genres is
associated with viewers’ assumptions about the distribution of real-world
roles and occupations (Carveth & Alexander, 1985; Potter & Chang, 1990).
For example, greater exposure to action or adventure programs is associated
with lower estimates of the number of working and professional women.
Finally, associations have been reported between regular exposure to educational television or to programs with nontraditional characters and less
stereotypical sex role beliefs (Rosenwasser, Lingenfelter, & Harrington,
1989).
The second group of studies (Outcome 2) examines associations between
TV viewing and students’ attitudes about gender, assessing their agreement
with statements concerning the appropriate roles and behaviors of women
and men, the appropriateness of women’s place in the domestic and work arenas (e.g., married women should stay home and be housewives and mothers),
and the skills and competencies of each sex (e.g., men are more rational than
women). Here, more frequent TV viewing is typically linked with holding
more sexist attitudes (Morgan & Rothschild, 1983), although most findings
are conditional, indicating results only for girls (Morgan, 1982; Ward &
Rivadeneyra, 1999) or specific genres (Potter & Chang, 1990). Together, evidence suggests that frequent exposure to mainstream TV portrayals is often
associated with stronger support for sexist attitudes and with more stereotypical associations about what the sexes do and how they behave.
However, these connections are far from complete. Null, conditional, and
counterintuitive outcomes have also been reported using these same paradigms (Meyer, 1980; Perloff, 1977), and the field is plagued by minimalist
assessments of media use. Indeed, a common approach has been to ask participants one or two questions about the number of hours they watch TV in a
typical school day (Gross & Jeffries-Fox, 1978; Meyer, 1980; Morgan, 1982;
Morgan & Rothschild, 1983; Signorielli & Lears, 1992) and then to correlate
this response with their gender role attitudes. Not only does this approach
gloss over potential contributions of specific TV genres, but it also leaves
open the possibility of vast over- and underestimation of viewing amounts
that may come with open-ended, free recall. Using cued-recall and genresensitive assessments may prove more informative. In addition, because
nearly all studies have tested predominantly European American samples,
little is known of the extent to which these connections hold for Latino and
Black viewers, who tend to consume higher levels of TV than their White
counterparts (Blosser, 1988; Roberts et al., 1999).
456
Predom White middle & upper class
64% White, 21% Black, 14% “other”
70% White, 30% Black
54% White, 26% Asian, 12% Latino
100% African American
Unspecified
Predom White, mixed SES
Chn: K & 2
Chn: 4-5
Teens: 6-9
UG
Teens: high school
Teens: 5-6
Chn: 3-5
NOTE: Chn = children; UG = undergraduates; Predom = predominantly; SES = socioeconomic status.
Outcomes: 1 = stereotyping of gender traits, occupations, activities; 2 = gender role attitudes.
Unspecified
Unspecified
All White, predom middle class
Unspecified
Unspecified
All White, predom middle class
Predom White working class, rural
Unspecified
Heavily lower middle class, rural
98% White, mixed SES
Heavily lower middle class, rural
White middle & upper middle class
66.4% White, 22.7% Black
Professional, white-collar
UG
UG
Chn: K, 2, 4, 6
Teens: 6-9
UG
Chn:1, 3,5,7
Chn:1,2,5,6 girls
Chn: 6
Teens: 8
Teens: 6-9
Teens: 8
Chn: 5-6
Teens: 8-12
Chn: K-3
Buerkel-Rothfuss & Mayes (1981)
Carveth & Alexander (1985)
Freuh & McGhee (1975)
Gross & Jeffries-Fox (1978)
McCauley, Thangavelu, & Rozin (1988)
McGhee & Frueh (1980)
Meyer (1980)
Miller & Reeves (1976)
Morgan (1987)
Morgan (1982)
Morgan & Rothschild (1983)
Perloff (1977)
Potter & Chang (1990)
Repetti (1984)
Rosenwasser, Lingenfelter,
& Harrington (1989)
Signorielli & Lears (1992)
Walsh-Childers & Brown (1993)
Ward, Hansbrough, & Walker (in press)
Ward & Rivadeneyra (1999)
Wrobleweski & Huston (1987)
Zuckerman, Singer, & Singer (1980)
Demographics
Grade Level
Author and Year
Individual shows
General TV
3 TV types
3 genres
3 genres
General TV
General TV
1
1
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
2
2
1
1
1
1
2
2
1
1
1, 2
1
Outcome Tested
Soaps
Soaps, TV
General TV
General TV
General TV
General TV
General TV
5 shows
General TV
General TV
General TV
General TV
12 genres
General & educational
Genre
TABLE 1. Alphabetical Summary of 21 Studies Examining Associations Between Regular TV Use and Students’ Gender Typing
Rivadeneyra, Ward / TELEVISION AND GENDER ROLE
457
Accordingly, in exploring connections between regular media use and
students’gender role attitudes, this study seeks to address existing limitations
in three key ways. First, we examine these dynamics among Latino youth, a
high-media consuming yet understudied audience. Second, to add more
specificity to assessments of viewing amounts, we test the contributions both
of multiple genres and of English-language and Spanish-language programming. Finally, we expand definitions of media use to include viewing
amounts and viewer involvement levels under the assumption that paths of
media influence are likely to be diverse.
Expanding Existing Approaches: Media Use and Latino Youth
One limitation in existing approaches is the limited diversity of the samples selected. As can be seen in Table 1, nearly all of the studies tested predominantly non-Latino, European American samples, as stated directly or by
omission. None focused solely on Latino participants. We believe there are
several reasons to suspect that links between TV use and gender role attitudes
among Latino youth warrant special attention. First, media effects are
believed to be strongest for the most frequent viewers, and Latinos are among
the heaviest consumers of the media (Blosser, 1988). Cultivation theory
argues that the more frequently people watch TV and are exposed to its narrow portraits of social reality, the greater the likelihood that they will gradually come to adopt beliefs about the real world that coincide with this portrait
(Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, & Signorielli, 1994). In their national survey of
U.S. children and adolescents, Roberts et al. (1999) found that Latino children aged 8 to 18 watched an average of 3 hours and 50 minutes of TV a day,
significantly more than the 2 hours and 47 minutes averaged by European
American youth. Thus, if frequent viewers are most vulnerable to absorbing
television’s messages about gender, then Latino youth may be particularly at
risk.
Second, some researchers have found Latinos to be more traditional in
their gender role attitudes than European Americans (Mirande, 1997). Based
partly on patriarchal values attributed to the Catholic Church (Soto, 1983),
traditional gender roles within Latino cultural groups encourage men to be
dominant, strong, rational, virile, and controlling, and expect women to be
submissive, obedient, self-sacrificing, and chaste (Raffaelli & Suarez-AlAdam, 1998; Soto, 1983). However, these traditional cultural norms describe
ideals and not actual behavior of all group members. Indeed, studies have
found that endorsement of these values among Latinos diminishes with
acculturation and that even in Latin America, these values are changing
(Mirande, 1997; Soto, 1983; Sugihara & Warner, 1999). Consequently, Lati-
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JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT RESEARCH / July 2005
nos may represent a unique sample for the study of media use and gender role
development, with particular attention to the role of acculturation in mediating this relationship. Indeed, previous research indicates the importance of
acculturation for both media use and sex role beliefs (Deshpande, Hoyer, &
Donthu, 1986; Ruiz-Balsara, 2002).
Third, not only do Latino youth watch more mainstream TV, but they are
often exposed to a second television world that is not part of the media diet of
most non-Spanish speakers (Subervi-Velez & Colstant, 1993). Among Latinos in the United States, Spanish-language television is both popular and
accessible, with Univisión reaching close to 95% of the U.S. Latino audience
and Telemundo reaching approximately 84% (Subervi-Velez, 1993). It is
also reported that the top 20 programs among Latino households are all on
Univisión (Navarro, 2002). Moreover, evidence from advertising research
suggests that Spanish-language TV may hold more credibility and possibly
more influence among Latinos than English-language TV although both are
typically watched in equal amounts (Fullerton & Kendrick, 2000). Additionally, whereas little research has focused on Spanish-language television,
existing evidence suggests that its gender role portrayals match those of their
English-language counterparts. In a content analysis of 92 commercials airing during prime time on Univisión, Fullerton and Kendrick (2000) found
that 52 of the 62 commercials (84%) featuring primary characters of any kind
were found to portray women or men in traditional roles. Thus, Latino youth
are exposed to traditional gender images from both mainstream and Spanishlanguage programming.
Broadening Assessments of Media Use
A second limitation of the existing approaches has been an overemphasis
on viewing amounts as the influential force with less attention to other
aspects of media use. In assessing associations between gender role attitudes
and media use, much of the existing research has examined the number of
hours of regular TV viewing (Morgan, 1987; Signorielli & Lears, 1992)
based on assumptions of cultivation theory. However, one’s sheer exposure
to media messages is not the only avenue through which media use may
shape a person’s attitudes and beliefs. Instead, several additional mechanisms have been proposed and studied. For example, proponents of uses and
gratifications theory (see Rubin, 1994, for review) argue that viewers’ motivations for choosing certain content will shape the nature and extent of that
content’s influence. In addition, both social cognitive theory (Bandura,
1994) and Greenberg’s (1988) drench hypothesis focus on viewers’ levels of
connection or identification with particular media models as the influential
Rivadeneyra, Ward / TELEVISION AND GENDER ROLE
459
force. We term these additional avenues of media influence as viewer
involvement and see involvement as including several components such as
viewers’ motivations for viewing, identification with central characters, and
perceived realism of media content. Previous research indicates that viewers’
level of involvement with media content does shape the nature and extent of
its influence with greater levels of involvement typically predicting stronger
endorsement of dominant media messages (Perse, 1986; Ward &
Rivadeneyra, 1999). Because levels of viewer involvement may or may not
correspond with viewing frequency, independent assessments of both are
needed to more fully capture the dynamics of media use.
The Present Study
Three hypotheses guided the present study. First, we expected a relationship between hours of television viewed and Latino adolescents’ attitudes
about gender. As noted earlier, many existing studies of European American
youth and their viewing of English-language programming have found that
stereotypical portrayals of gender dominate on TV, and that heavier TV
exposure is related to expressing more traditional gender roles. Accordingly,
for Latino adolescents, we expected that frequent viewing of either Englishor Spanish-language programming would be associated with holding more
stereotypical gender role attitudes because both formats appear to portray
gender roles in limited and stereotypical ways.
Our second hypothesis addressed connections between viewer involvement and gender role attitudes, focusing on the following three dimensions of
viewer involvement: character identification, viewing motivations, and perceived realism. Based on theoretical premises (Bandura, 1994; Rubin, 1994)
and on previous findings of media effects (Perse, 1986; Ward & Rivadeneyra,
1999), we expected that viewers who identified more strongly with popular
TV characters, who viewed TV more intently for the purposes of learning,
and who attributed greater realism to the portrayals would be more likely to
endorse its dominant messages (i.e., stereotypical gender roles).
Our final hypothesis focused on features of individual viewers that may
shape the use and potential impact of media content, with particular attention
to the roles of sex and acculturation. Many studies investigating connections
between media use and viewers’ attitudes about gender report stronger links
for girls than for boys (Morgan, 1982; Ward & Rivadeneyra, 1999), perhaps
because of the type of genre studied or differences in the strength of their
acceptance of gender stereotypes. Based on these findings, we hypothesized
that associations between TV use and gender role attitudes would be stronger
for girls than for boys. Contributions of acculturation were also examined for
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JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT RESEARCH / July 2005
they have been found to be related both to Latino viewing habits and to gender role attitudes. Less acculturated individuals were expected to watch more
Spanish-language TV and to express more traditional gender role attitudes
(Deshpande et al., 1986; Ruiz-Balsara, 2002). Accordingly, this study
explored the role of acculturation as a possible mediator of the link between
television use and gender role attitudes.
METHOD
Participants
Participants were 186 Latino or Latina students from a high school located
in an urban area in Los Angeles County. The student population at the high
school was approximately 80% Latino, most of whom were of Mexican
descent. The mean age of the participants was 16.3 years; 56% were female.
The mean reported grade point average (GPA) was 2.79. The majority of students (71%) indicated that they were the first generation in their family to be
born in the United States. Of the participants, 20% stated that they were
immigrants themselves. Serving as proxy measures of socioeconomic status,
the mean maternal and paternal education levels fell at 10.6 and 10.5 years of
formal schooling, respectively.
Measures
Viewing amounts. To assess media exposure levels, a list was provided of
all prime time comedies and dramas, soap operas, and talk shows broadcast at
the time of the study on the following major networks: NBC, CBS, ABC,
WB, FOX, UPN, Univisión, and Telemundo. Using a 5-point scale, participants indicated how frequently during the past month they had watched each
of the 132 English-language and Spanish-language programs listed. For programs that aired on a weekly basis, the scale included the following markers:
“every week,” “pretty regularly,” “every other week,” “occasionally,” and
“never or not this season.” For programs that aired every day on weekdays,
the scale included the following markers: “almost every day,” “a couple of
times a week,” “once a week,” “a few times a month,” and “never or not this
season.” Average monthly viewing amounts were then calculated for each
participant and for each genre based on the frequency that each program was
viewed and the length of the program. For example, if a participant indicated
that she watched a 1-hour program every week, this was coded as 4 hours a
Rivadeneyra, Ward / TELEVISION AND GENDER ROLE
461
month of viewing time (1 hour show × 4 weeks a month). Hours were then
summed across the programs making up that genre. Resulting were the
following six media exposure variables calculated for each participant:
Spanish-language prime time hours, English-language prime time hours,
Spanish-language soap opera hours, English-language soap opera hours,
Spanish-language talk show hours, and English-language talk show hours.
Viewer involvement. Participants also reported on their involvement with
television programming, defined here as viewing motivation, character identification, and perceived realism. The motivation for viewing measure was
adapted from the instrument developed by Ward and Rivadeneyra (1999) to
examine viewers’ motivations for watching TV. Participants were asked to
rate each of 22 possible motivations on a scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). Of the items, 11 assessed a learning motive
(alpha = .88), examining the extent to which individuals watched television
to learn about the world (e.g., “I like to watch TV comedies and dramas
because they help me learn about myself and others”). The other 11 items
measured an entertainment motive (alpha = .78), assessing the extent to
which individuals watched television for purely entertainment purposes
(e.g., “I like to watch TV comedies and dramas because it’s something fun to
do with my friends”). Responses were summed across the 11 items of each
subscale.
The second measure of viewer involvement addressed students’ identification with the characters on the television programs that they watch. To do
so, 16 characters (8 females, 8 males, 5 Latino) were selected from popular
television programs. Participants indicated the extent to which they related to
each of the characters on a 4-point scale anchored by can’t relate to at all and
can really relate to. A “not applicable” option was available in cases where
the participant was not familiar with the character. An average identification
score was calculated for female characters (alpha = .93) and for male characters (alpha = .89). Pulled for use in later analyses was participants’ level of
identification with same-sex characters. We chose to use a measure that
included the same characters for all participants so that we could compare
identification levels across participants. In addition, participants were asked
to note their favorite television character and to respond to a series of eight
questions about their level of identification with this character. Responses
were indicated using a 7-point scale anchored by strongly disagree and
strongly agree. Questions included “I like what this character is about” and “I
would like to have the type of life that this character has.” A mean score was
taken across the items to yield an identification score for each student’s favorite TV character (alpha = .77). We chose to include an identification measure
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JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT RESEARCH / July 2005
that used participants’ favorite character as this was expected to be more telling of each individual’s personal connection with selected TV characters.
The last media involvement measure assessed adolescents’ perceived
realism of television content via the perceived realism on television scale.
This instrument is a 22-item measure (alpha = .91) currently under development that asks specific questions about participants’ views of the realism of
television, its characters, and its story lines. Individual items were either created from theoretical discussions of perceived realism (Dorr, 1986; Potter,
1988) or were adapted from other measures (Potter, 1986; Reeves, 1978).
Using a 5-point scale anchored by strongly disagree and strongly agree, participants were asked to rate how strongly they supported notions such as
“Friendships between characters on TV are just like real friendships” and
“People on TV handle their problems just like real people do.” A mean score
was taken across the 22 items, such that higher scores indicated attributing
more realism to TV portrayals.
Gender role attitudes. Assessments of gender role attitudes were conducted using the three-item feminism subscale of the Cultural Identity Scales
for Latino Adolescents (Felix-Ortiz, Newcomb, & Myers, 1994). Participants indicated their level of agreement with each statement on a 5-point
scale anchored by disagree strongly and agree strongly. Sample items
include “the husband should make all the important decisions in the marriage” and “a wife should do whatever her husband wants.” Responses were
scored such that higher scores indicated more traditional gender attitudes.
These items have yielded good reliability (alpha = .81) and validity among
Latino adolescents.
Cultural identity. Students’ level of acculturation or cultural identity was
measured using the Cultural Identity Scales for Latino Adolescents (FelixOrtiz et al., 1994). This is a 35-item measure with 10 subscales that provides a
multidimensional assessment of cultural identity, with Latin America and the
United States. Unlike many acculturation measures, its Latino and U.S.
dimensions are independent. Thus, an individual can be high on both Latin
American and U.S. cultural identity. In addition, it measures cultural identity
across attitudes (e.g., “even if a child believes that his parents are wrong, he
should obey without question”), beliefs (e.g., “I have been treated unfairly
because I am Latino or Latina”), knowledge (e.g., “how familiar would you
say that you are with history and politics of your Latin American country?”),
and behavior (e.g., “what language do you use when you speak to your parents?”). Other acculturation measures have traditionally focused only on
behavior, thereby neglecting other important factors of a person’s cultural
Rivadeneyra, Ward / TELEVISION AND GENDER ROLE
463
identity. The instrument includes questions about language proficiency
(Spanish alpha = .88, 3 items; English alpha = .91, 3 items), language preference (5 items, alpha = .87), cultural knowledge of Latin America (4 items,
alpha = .77) and the United States (4 items, alpha = .69), Latino activism (4
items, alpha = .79), preferred Latino affiliation (3 items, alpha = .89), perception of discrimination (3 items, alpha = .72), and parental respect (3 items,
alpha = .77). The scale also includes a three-item feminism subscale that was
used as the gender role attitudes measure.
Procedure
Students were invited to participate during elective classes. They were
informed of the study, and those who wanted to participate took packets
home. The packet included letters to the parents explaining the study and asking for consent. The project was presented as a study on television and
school. The packet also included the paper-and-pencil questionnaire assessing students’ viewing amounts, viewer involvement, gender role attitudes,
and cultural identity. Students completed the measures at home during their
own time and were asked to return the packets to school a few days later.
RESULTS
Preliminary Analyses
Descriptive statistics of the media use variables and gender role attitudes
scale are provided in Table 2. In general, students reported watching an average of 104 hours of primetime comedies, dramas, soap operas, and talk
shows per month, which is comparable to the 3.75 hours per day reported by
Roberts et al. (1999). An average of 26% of this viewing was devoted to
Spanish-language programming. The overall trends reveal that participants
exhibited preferences for certain genres in certain languages.
Three sets of tests were conducted to examine potential sex differences in
the central variables. First, as summarized in Table 2, a one-way analyses of
variance confirmed strong sex differences in students’ gender role attitudes,
with boys expressing significantly more traditional attitudes about gender
than girls. Second, multivariate analyses of variance revealed a significant
sex difference across the 10 viewing amount variables. Follow-up univariate
analyses revealed that the girls in our sample reported watching a significantly higher amount of Spanish- and English-language talk shows and
Spanish- and English-language soap operas. The girls also watched signifi-
464
*p > .05. **p > .01. ***p > .001.
1.06
78.89
0.62
22.60
10.73
32.74
36.13
7.01
43.55
50.18
0.27
9.01
10.69
0.81
1.20
0.63
104.35
0.22
35.61
7.21
30.25
27.98
3.08
35.41
68.94
0.26
41.22
33.46
2.30
4.48
2.90
Standard
Deviation
1.86
Sample Mean
(n = 186)
20.00-60.00
11.00-59.00
1.00-4.00
1.00-7.00
1.18-4.73
1.5-380.5
0.00-4.00
0.00-102.00
0.00-43.00
0.00-119.00
0.00-129.00
0.00-32.00
0.00-172.50
1.50-239.00
0.00-0.96
1.00-5.00
Range in
Sample
Descriptives of Television Exposure and Viewer Involvement
Gender role attitudes
Viewing amounts
Total hours of TV
Spanish prime time
English prime time
Spanish talk show
English talk show
Spanish soap opera
English soap opera
Total Spanish hours
Total English hours
Percentage of Spanish
Viewer Involvement
Entertainment motive
Learning motive
Identify—same-sex
Identify—favorite
Perceived realism
Variable
TABLE 2
40.62
34.23
2.28
4.67
2.99
125.11
0.26
35.74
9.37
35.26
40.22
4.27
49.84
75.27
0.36
1.39
Female Mean
(n = 104)
41.74
32.62
2.32
4.26
2.77
75.08
0.14
35.67
4.23
23.01
10.63
1.40
15.00
60.08
0.13
2.48
Male Mean
(n = 78)
61.41***
7.71***
20.32***
ns
ns
10.57***
6.48*
36.55***
7.86**
34.34***
4.18*
34.99***
ns
Sex
Differences
Rivadeneyra, Ward / TELEVISION AND GENDER ROLE
465
cantly more hours of Spanish-language TV, English-language TV, and total
TV and watched a higher percentage of Spanish-language programming.
Finally, multivariate analyses of variance revealed no overall sex difference
in students’ viewer involvement levels.
A series of zero-order correlations was then run examining connections
between girls’ and boys’ gender role attitudes and the following possible
moderating variables: age, GPA, immigrant generation, maternal education,
paternal education, and the nine subscales of the cultural identity scale. No
demographic correlates emerged for either sex; however, several of the cultural identity subscales produced significant associations. Among girls,
expressing more traditional gender role attitudes was associated with
greater knowledge of Spanish, r(100) = .20, p > .05, less knowledge of
English, r(100) = –.23, p > .05, less disregard for parental authority, r(102) =
–.20, p > .05, and less preference for English, r(102) = –.23, p > .05. Among
boys, expressing more traditional gender role attitudes was associated with
less knowledge of English, r(75) = –.24, p > .05, and greater belief that they
have been discriminated against, r(74) = –.42, p > .001. These findings indicate that participants who were least acculturated to U.S. culture on several
dimensions also held more traditional gender role attitudes.
Finally, to test connections between cultural identity and media use,
another series of zero-order correlations was run. Results are provided in
Table 3. In general, participants indicating lower acculturation to U.S. culture
were more likely to watch TV, to watch Spanish-language TV, to watch television to learn, and to perceive what they watch on television as realistic.
Testing the Main Research Questions
The first research question addressed whether students who watch more
hours of television express more traditional gender role attitudes. To test this
assumption, bivariate correlations were run between the nine viewing
amount variables and gender role attitudes. Because preliminary analyses
had indicated different levels of media use and gender role attitudes for girls
and boys, all analyses were run separately by gender. Results are summarized
in the upper portions of Table 4.
Results indicated that the total number of hours watched per month (summing across the three genres) was significantly related to the gender role attitudes of the female participants, with girls who watch more TV expressing
more traditional gender role attitudes. These findings confirm expectations
of the cultivation model. Additional outcomes emerged for associations
tested by genre and language. Here, girls who watched more total hours of
Spanish-language TV (specifically prime time comedies, talk shows, and
466
–.29
–.27
–.25
English Lang
Preference
.29
.25
.29
–.39
–.30
–.25
–.46
.30
Knowledge of
U.S. Culture
.35
.25
Knowledge of
Latino culture
–.21
–.40
–.21
Knowledge
of English
.30
Knowledge
of Spanish
NOTE: Only correlations for which p ≤ .005 are reported.
Overall viewing amounts
Total hours per month
Total Spanish-language hours
Total English-language hours
Percentage Spanish hours
Viewing amounts by genre
Spanish prime time hours
English prime time hours
Spanish talk show hours
English talk show hours
Spanish soap opera hours
English soap opera hours
Viewer involvement
Entertainment motivation
Learning motivation
Identification—same-sex
Identification—favorite
Perceived realism
Age
TABLE 3: Zero-Order Correlation Between Television Use and Demographic and Cultural Identity Factors
–.22
–.23
Parental
Respect
Rivadeneyra, Ward / TELEVISION AND GENDER ROLE
467
TABLE 4: Correlation Coefficients of Television Use and Traditional Gender
Role Attitudes
Females (n = 89-102)
Overall viewing amounts
Total hours per month
Total Spanish-language hours
Total English-language hours
Viewing amounts by genre
Spanish prime time hours
English prime time hours
Spanish talk show hours
English talk show hours
Spanish soap opera hours
English soap opera hours
Viewer involvement
Entertainment viewing motivation
Learning viewing motivation
Identification—same-sex characters
Identification —favorite
Perceived realism
Males (n = 64-75)
Bivariate
Partial
Bivariate
.31**
.31***
.21*
.22*
.18
.18+
–.02
–.01
–.01
.32***
.06
.27**
.26**
.30**
.12
.24*
.03
.17
.25*
.16
.07
.09
–.01
.13
–.02
–.07
.05
.11
.20*
.13
.04
.35***
.12
.14
.10
.08
.27**
–.08
–.03
.10
–.04
–.05
NOTE: Higher scores indicate more traditional gender role attitudes.
+p > .07. *p ≤ .05. **p ≤ .01, ***p ≤ .001.
soap operas) and total hours of English-language TV (specifically talk
shows) held more traditional gender role attitudes. No significant links were
found between boys’ attitudes and their TV exposure. Partial correlations
were then run among the girls, controlling for the four cultural identity measures noted above to be significant correlates of girls’ gender role attitudes.
Results (see Table 4) indicated continued relations between traditional gender role attitudes and total hours, total English-language hours (only marginally significant), Spanish prime time hours, and English talk show hours.
However, relations between gender role attitudes and the viewing of total
hours of Spanish-language TV, Spanish-language talk shows, and Spanishlanguage soap operas disappeared when cultural identity factors were
controlled.
The second hypothesis addressed whether higher levels of viewer involvement are associated with a stronger endorsement of traditional gender role
attitudes. To test this hypothesis, bivariate correlations were run between the
five viewer involvement variables and students’ gender role attitudes, with
separate analyses conducted for girls and boys. Results presented in the bottom portion of Table 4 indicate two significant outcomes among the girls.
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JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT RESEARCH / July 2005
More specifically, watching television more intently for the purpose of learning and attributing greater realism to the portrayals were each associated with
holding more traditional gender role attitudes. After controlling for significant cultural identity correlates, associations between perceived realism
and traditional gender role attitudes remained. No outcomes emerged for the
boys.
Finally, we used multiple regression analyses to address the following
research question: Which factor best predicts girls’ gender role attitudes—
their viewing amounts, viewer involvement levels, or acculturation? Drawing from the correlational analyses reported earlier, the four significant cultural identity correlates were entered as the first step of the model, and the following media use correlates were added on the second step: Spanish primetime hours, English talk show hours, and perceived realism. As indicated in
Table 5, the first regression model was found to be a significant predictor of
girls’ gender role attitudes, accounting for 8.5% of the variance. However, no
individual cultural identity subscale emerged as a significant contributor.
When the media use variables were added to the model, the variance
increased to 23.6%, a significant change from the previous model (F = 7.13,
p > .001). Each media use variable emerged as a significant contributor such
that frequent exposure to Spanish prime time comedies and English talk
shows predicted holding more traditional gender role attitudes, as did attributing greater realism to media portrayals. Thus, when all factors were considered together, media use emerged as a stronger predictor than acculturation
of girls’ support for traditional gender roles.
DISCUSSION
As a growing segment of the U.S. citizenry and as avid media consumers,
Latino adolescents represent a critical population for the study of media
effects. Watching more TV than their European American counterparts and
embracing both English- and Spanish-language programming, Latino youth
are exposed to an abundance of media portrayals modeling society’s expectations of women and men. Because tentative evidence suggests that stereotypical gender roles dominate both programming formats, we examined
whether higher levels of viewing amounts and viewer involvement are associated with a stronger endorsement of traditional gender roles. Our findings
indicate that this is indeed the case, with heavier viewing of specific genres of
English- and particular Spanish-language programming associated with girls
holding more traditional gender role attitudes. The resulting picture offers
valuable insight into possible consequences of high levels of media use.
469
2
.03
–.06
–.02
–.04
.12
–.16
–.12
–.17
Standardized coefficients
Beta
2
.02
–.04
–.01
–.01
.25
.00
.30
Unstandardized coefficients
B
.08
–.10
–.04
–.04
.25**
.19*
.29**
Standardized coefficients
Beta
Step 2
NOTE: For Step 1, adjusted R = .085, F value = 3.26, and n = 98. For Step 2, adjusted R = .236, F value = 5.29, and n = 98. Higher scores indicates
more traditional gender role attitudes.
*p ≤ .05. **p ≤ .01. ***p ≤ .001.
Knowledge of Spanish
Knowledge of English
Language preference
Parental respect
Spanish prime time hours
English talk show hours
Perceived realism
Unstandardized coefficients
B
Step 1
TABLE 5: Regression Coefficients for Media Use Variables Predicting Gender Role Attitudes for Females
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JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT RESEARCH / July 2005
First, significant associations emerged between students’ gender role attitudes and their viewing of English-language programming and of talk shows
in particular. Here, adolescent girls who watched more hours of television
also expressed more traditional attitudes about gender, offering stronger
endorsements of statements such as “a wife should do whatever her husband
wants.” These findings corroborate existing work that suggests that watching
TV’s limited portrayals of gender may lead viewers to adopt equally constrained attitudes. Because our findings are correlational only, we stop short
of making causal inferences about the associations reported here. Although it
is possible that frequent media exposure, over time, has contributed to girls’
adopting more traditional attitudes about gender, it is equally possible that
girls’ existing beliefs about gender have shaped their current viewing choices.
We note, here, then that the existence of such associations warrants further
investigation.
Adding to previous work, we found that watching Spanish-language television was also related to expressing more traditional gender role attitudes.
However, most of the connections with Spanish-language programming disappeared when acculturation was taken into account, leaving only a connection with prime time comedies and dramas. This indicates the importance of
measuring acculturation when looking at media effects among Latino youth.
Acculturation was related to watching more Spanish-language TV and to
holding more traditional gender role attitudes; it did not, however, entirely
mediate the relations between the two, for connections between TV viewing
and gender role attitudes remained, even with acculturation accounted for.
Second, our findings indicate that these connections differ by media
genre. Watching English-language talk shows was a predictor of gender role
attitudes among girls. This is an intriguing finding that highlights the need for
further examination of this genre. Emerging as a strong predictor of girls’
gender role attitudes was their watching of Spanish prime time comedies and
dramas. This is an interesting finding, given that Spanish-language prime
time sitcoms are a relatively new phenomenon. The Spanish prime time landscape traditionally, and even today, has belonged to soap operas. However,
during the time of the study, Telemundo was broadcasting 2 half-hour family
situation comedies each week: Los Beltrán and Solo en América. This
weekly hour of programming accounted for the total number of hours of
Spanish-language prime time comedies and dramas. Hence, those who
watched these two shows more frequently were more likely to express traditional gender role attitudes. Why did associations emerge here and not for
any other type of Spanish-language programming? It is possible that these
sitcoms were especially gender typed because they were family situation
comedies. Family sitcoms have traditionally portrayed gender roles very
Rivadeneyra, Ward / TELEVISION AND GENDER ROLE
471
stereotypically (Olson & Douglas, 1997), and these Spanish-language sitcoms are likely to have followed suit because they were produced in the
United States. It is also possible that these two sitcoms were especially salient
and potentially influential because they depicted Latino characters living in
the United States, much like the participants themselves. Because the bulk
of Spanish-language entertainment programming focuses on characters
living in Latin America, the characters on these sitcoms may have appeared
more realistic and relevant to the participants and hence potentially more
influential.
Finally, our findings demonstrate that dimensions of viewer involvement
are significant contributors as well. For example, we found initial connections among the girls between having a learning motivation for watching TV
and holding more traditional gender role attitudes. However, this association
was mediated by cultural identity. In addition, perceived realism played a
strong role, such that attributing greater realism to media portrayals was
associated with expressing stronger support of the traditional gender values
commonly portrayed. This was an expected finding that replicates past work
(Ward & Rivadeneyra, 1999) and highlights the importance of viewer
involvement as a significant and independent predictor of gender role attitudes, beyond the number of hours of TV viewed. At the same time, however,
students’ levels of identification with popular TV personalities and with their
favorite TV character made no contribution. It is possible that the characters
selected for the identification measure were too diverse or too similar in their
gender roles, such that collapsing students’responses to them washed out any
contributions. However, students’ levels of identification with this same
group of characters did predict their attitudes on other dimensions tested elsewhere (e.g., awareness of ethnic stereotypes; Rivadeneyra, 2002). Further
study employing a larger and more diverse group of media figures may help
clarify this null result.
Replicating previous findings, expected connections between students’
media use and their gender role attitudes emerged for female participants
only. It would appear as if girls’ notions about gender are more tied to their
media use than are boys’ notions. What circumstances might account for this
relatively consistent sex difference? First, it must be acknowledged that boys
used the media genres in question significantly less frequently than girls did.
With lower levels of exposure, it may have been difficult for associations with
gender notions to emerge. A second explanation is that most boys at this age
are already quite traditional in their ideas about gender (Galambos, Almeida,
& Petersen, 1990). If boys are more inclined to endorse traditional notions
about gender, perhaps as a result of their accumulated gender training or of
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JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT RESEARCH / July 2005
their status in the gender hierarchy, then there is less room available for
possible media influence.
Although this study expands considerably on existing approaches, there
are several limitations that could be addressed in future research. First, more
extensive assessments of gender role attitudes may be needed to more fully
capture the complexity of this construct. Our assessments focused mainly on
students’ attitudes about the appropriate roles for women and men in the
home and in the workplace. These domains, however, represent only a small
portion of people’s beliefs about gender roles, which include notions about
physical appearance, social competencies, and personality traits. Second, in
addition to looking at students’ viewing of prime time sitcoms, dramas, soap
operas, and talk shows, future research may want to examine the contributions of other genres, such as movies, which are available in both English and
Spanish in some markets. Finally, it would be beneficial to collect data at
multiple time points to better determine how levels of media exposure during
childhood shape gender role beliefs in adolescence and adulthood. Such longitudinal data could also help clarify the direction of the association.
In conclusion, the findings reported here indicate that greater levels of
exposure to specific genres of English- and Spanish-language programming
are associated with holding more traditional views about gender roles. We
acknowledge that media use is not the only force contributing to teens’
beliefs about gender; gender-related expectations and messages are transmitted in everyday interactions with multiple models. Yet because the hours adolescents spend with the media are vast, typically surpassing time spent in
school or with parents, their contributions to gender role development are
likely to be substantial as well. The implications of these findings for girls
and their development are potentially far-reaching. If the media frequently
portray a stereotypical view of women and of femininity and if female viewers’ own conceptions are indeed shaped by this exposure, the most direct
effects are likely to be girls striving to adhere strongly to the dictates of the
traditional female role, believing that this is what society expects of them. As
noted earlier, many believe that such efforts contribute to the high incidence
of low self-esteem, poor body image, and depression seen among adolescent
girls. As such, these images have the potential to be harmful to today’s young
Latinas, and further research among this population is therefore warranted.
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Rocio Rivadeneyra is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at
Illinois State University. She received a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of
Michigan and conducts research on the socializing influence of the media on adolescents’ conceptions of self, gender, sexuality, and academics, with particular interest in
Latino youth.
L. Monique Ward is an associate professor of psychology (developmental) at the University of Michigan. She received a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California,
Los Angeles, and conducts research exploring contributions of parents, peers, and the
media to gender and sexual socialization.